Forecast summary

Regional

UK 5 days

UK 6-30 days

Regional forecast for South West England

Clear spells and scattered showers. Some icy patches.

This Evening and Tonight:

Clear spells overnight but with scattered showers across the west but these should mostly be rain, and will ease by dawn. Temperatures will drop and icy patches may form on untreated surfaces. Breezy. Minimum Temperature 0C.

Wednesday:

A cold start with some icy patches, mostly in rural areas. Largely dry and sunny through the day, with any showers soon dying out and winds easing. Feeling less cold. Maximum Temperature 10C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Turning milder. A bright start to Thursday, then becoming more cloudy with some drizzle possible during Friday and early Saturday. Further bright or sunny spells are likely. Mostly light winds.

Updated
at: 1451 on Tue 03 Mar 2015

UK forecast for the next 5 days

Cold with icy patches. Largely dry, but showers in north.

This Evening and Tonight:

Showers continuing in the north and west with snowfall over hills and rain lower down, but these easing by dawn with icy patches forming on untreated surfaces. Mostly dry elsewhere. Windy, with coastal gales in the north, but easing later.

Wednesday:

Icy patches at first. Largely dry and sunny conditions, with showers continuing to die out and winds easing. Feeling less cold. Cloud and rain reaching the northwest later.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Windy across many northwestern areas with local gales and rain at times, often heavy in western Scotland. Southeastern areas will be mostly dry with some sunshine. Much milder everywhere.

Updated
at: 1452 on Tue 03 Mar 2015

Outlook for the UK over the next 6-30 days

UK Outlook for Sunday 8 Mar 2015 to Tuesday 17 Mar 2015:

A northwest/southeast split is likely on Sunday. Wetter weather is expected in the northwest, with outbreaks of rain, perhaps heavy in western Scotland, slowly moving south, possibly reaching northern England by the end of the day before stalling. It will also be windy with gales possible in places. Drier, brighter, less windy conditions are likely in the southeast, with some sunny spells. It will become mild across the country and may be very mild in some eastern parts. From Monday, there looks to be a change to more settled conditions to most parts of the UK, however, occasional weather systems will likely bring cloudier interludes with rain to northern and western parts. There is uncertainty in temperatures, but they are more likely to be average for the time of year.

UK Outlook for Wednesday 18 Mar 2015 to Wednesday 1 Apr 2015:

It looks probable that pressure will remain higher than average across the UK at first. This would bring generally drier than average conditions, but it is likely that there could also be some cloud at times, with some occasional rain or showers particularly across the north. There are signs that a more unsettled regime will be established in late March with wetter than average conditions probably developing in the northwest, but still with drier weather in the southeast.

Location Details

Bristol

Location: 51.4541, -2.5866

Altitude: 1m above mean sea level

Video forecast

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Bristol information

Found on the river Avon in the south-west of England and bordering Wales, Bristol is England's sixth largest city with a population of around 430,000. Bristol's proximity to the sea is what first established the city as a major dwelling in Britain. During the Middle Ages, Bristol boomed to become one of the major ports in the country when sales of imported goods brought prosperity to the region.

Daytime temperatures in Bristol can be up to 2 °C above the UK average through the winter months. The average maximum is 8 °C and minimum is 2 °C. Usually February is the coldest month. December sees the highest rainfall totals on average at round 86 mm with the highest number of 'rain days'; though more rain falls in autumn than winter. Some of the most severe blizzards have affected the South West region and conditions were especially severe in Bristol on the 8th and 9th January 1982. Snow drifts were up to 1 metre deep.

From March daytime temperatures in Bristol start to rise. The minimum average increases to 3.7 °C from 1.9 °C the month before. Likewise, sunshine hours rises to nearly 200 hrs at the end of spring. Whilst there are sunnier areas in the South West region, this is significantly higher than the national average. For spring months in Bristol there are very few days of air frost compared to UK figures.

Bristol holds one of the biggest outdoor attractions in the UK; each summer the International Balloon Fiesta draws half a million visitors to Ashton Court as a twice-daily display launches hundreds of hot air balloons into the sky including the weird and wonderful shapes of the Special Shapes Ascent. The Fiesta also plays host to a fairground, many arts and crafts stalls as well as live music acts.

In the height of summer those in Bristol usually enjoy average daytime maxima up to 22 °C. Along with this, sunshine hours approach 220 hrs each month for June and July, although for August the figure is lower. Both rainfall accumulation and days of rain are notably lower in Bristol than the UK average.

The first weeks of autumn can still feel warm, with average daytime maxima reaching as high as 18 to 19 °C. Air frost can be expected from mid October which is later than most areas. This is due to Bristol's relatively close proximity to continuing warm sea temperatures. For Bristol, the highest number of days with rain greater than 1 mm are usually in towards the end of autumn, although the figure is lower than the UK average. Concurrently, rainfall accumulation is highest in October and November.